


Final Act

by muppet8003



Category: Plague Tale: Innocence (Video Game)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Past Child Abuse, Slight Redemption
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2019-08-22
Packaged: 2020-09-24 02:43:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20351074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/muppet8003/pseuds/muppet8003
Summary: Unable to return to the Castle before dark, Amicia, Melie, and Arthur reluctantly take shelter at a familiar house.





	Final Act

Amicia nervously glanced toward the rapidly setting sun and then back toward the twins. “We’re not going make it back to the chateau before dark.”

Melie and Arthur glanced at each other uncertainly, no more eager to be outdoors when the swarms of rats emerged than their highborn friend. Noticing she recognized the surrounding area, Melie nudged her brother. “Arthur, you see where we are?”

“Yeah.” Arthur sighed.

Amicia looked from one sibling to the other, feeling like she was being left out of something. “What’s going on?”

A silent conversation was shared between the twins, until Melie looked back to the noble girl and simply said “We know a place we can go.”

“Well…that’s good,” Amicia said, her relief somewhat put off by the twins’ dour demeanor. She quietly allowed the siblings to lead her across the empty fields and toward the outskirts of a town. The trio approached a small shoddily kept house, a large man outside lighting a bonfire outside his home.

“Milady, this is our home,” Melie explained as the man took note of the approaching teens, “…and that is our dad.”

“So you’re back then, eh?” The twins’ father observed, as if his children had been gone overnight rather than nearly a year. He gave Amicia a quick, appraising look and gestured to her as he looked back to the siblings, “Which one of you is fucking her?”

“Shut up!” Melie shouted, only to shrink back when her father fixed her with a threatening look, “…sorry, Papa.”

“Heh, that answers that question.” The man smirked. He ran a hand through his red hair and turned back toward the small house, gesturing for the teenagers to follow, “Well, come on in. I’ve got some stew ready.”

Amicia and her friends hesitated for a few moments then followed into Melie and Arthur’s former home. They entered to find the cramped home just as the twins had left it; messy, smokey, empty ale bottles strewn about. Their father was already seated at the small table with a bowl of stew. Without a word, Melie served her companions and they sat down to eat. Amicia didn’t recognize what kind of meat was in her helping, but decided not to ask.

“Thank you for taking us in,” Amicia awkwardly address her host, “…I’m Amicia, by the way.”

“Claude,” the twins’ father said flatly, before looking to his children, “You can stay the night, any longer than that you’ll have to earn your keep.”

“We’ll be leaving in the morning, Papa,” Arthur answered, not looking up from his bowl.

“Hm,” Claude nodded, “You can sleep up in your old nook.”

The rest of the modest meal passed in near silence. Once he’d finished his portion, Claude wordless got up and settled into an old chair with a fresh bottle of ale. After the three youths had finished, Melie wordlessly guided Amicia to a short ladder leading to a small space with a straw mattress above the fireplace. It had probably been cramped even when only Melie and Arthur had shared it but the three teens were able to squeeze in. The nights were growing colder and colder, but the heat from the fireplace kept the teens warm.

Just before falling asleep, Amicia noticed Claude glance up at the trio and than toss one more log in the fireplace.

The next morning, Amicia groggily awoke to find herself with Melie cuddled up against her back, the thief’s arm wrapped tightly around her midriff. The noble girl smiled, gently laying her hand over the redhead’s.

“Wake up!” Claude’s voice called, followed by the large rattling the ladder. Amicia flinched in surprise as Melie was shocked awake, protectively pulling the highborn girl close on reflex. Behind them, a surprised Arthur had sprung up, bashing his head on the sleeping space’s low ceiling. Claude looked into the nook at the girls while the boy groaned. “It’s morning.”

“M'kay, Papa,” a still groggy Melie muttered. She watched as her father nodded and moved away, still holding Amicia close. Finally, the former looter softly said, “We’d better head out before he gets impatient, Princess.” 

In short order, the young friends were about ready to begin their journey to the castle. The twins avoided eye contact with their father, leaned against the door frame as they moved to exit. Melie was just passing him when Claude’s hand shot out, grabbing her by the hair and yanking her head back so she was forced to look at up at him. “You lot haven’t grabbed anything without asking, have ya?

“…n-no, Papa,” was Melie’s uncharacteristically meek reply. Claudia seemed to consider his daughter’s answer for a few moments, Arthur watching nervously and Amicia reflexively reaching for her sling. Finally, the larger redhead released the girl and gestured the three friends to be on their way. Melie lightly swatted Amicia and Arthur’s comforting hands away flung the door open. She and her friends had just made their way into the yard then they noticed the approaching column of armed men, led by Lord Nicholas himself.

“Oh shit.” Arthur gasped.

“This way, hurry!" Amicia instructed, guiding the twins to a patch of tall grass.The highborn girl and her friends had just crouched into the grass when Claude came out to, bottle of ale in hand, see Inquisition soldiers spreading out around his home. 

“What the hell is all this?” The large red-haired man demanded.

Nicholas dismounted and approached the man “Are you Claude Dupont?”

“Well, maybe I am, maybe I’m not,” Claude shrugged, “What’s it to you?”

The hooded man’s stance became much more rigid. “The Inquisition is hunting a group of fugitives. We have reason to believe your children, Melie and Arthur, are among them.”

“It takes,” Claude glanced around to count the Inquisition troops ransacking/searching his property, “Ten of fully armed men to capture a few kids?”

“Where can we find your children?” Nicholas demanded.

Claude’s eyes darted over Nicholas’s shoulder. For a brief second Melie, Arthur, and Amicia could feel him looking right at them, before he looked back at the armored man. “Dunno, li’l ingrates took off months ago, haven’t seen ‘em sense. Good riddance.”

“Lord Nicholas!” A soldier called stepping out of the house, “We couldn’t find anyone but there’s four bowls at the table.”

“Where are they?” Nicholas demanded, drawing his sword on Claude, “Where. Are they?”

The watching teens tensed as Claude glanced down at the sword and Inquisition soldiers now encircling him. He held out his bottle of ale to Nicholas and said, “Treat ya to communion?”

Nicholas sliced off his hand.

“AAAAHHH!! FUCK! SHIT! DAMMIT!!…you asshole.”

Meanwhile, in their hiding spot, Amicia covered her mouth to stop from crying out, taking deep breaths to calm herself. On her right and left, Melie and Arthur watched with more mixed feeling. Melie couldn’t help a feeling of satisfaction at seeing the hand he’d beaten her with so many times severed, but also felt tears running down her cheeks. For his part, Arthur found himself wanting to be pleased but instead feeling anguish.

Meanwhile, Claude had collapsed to his knees clutching his bleeding stump, Nicholas and his men looming over him. The Grand Inquisitor’s henchman used his bloody blade to force Claude to look up at him. “You know, some scholars believe that gingers don’t have souls. So killing you wouldn’t be a sin. Now, for the last time; Where are your children?”

“They’re close,” Claude ground out. 

“Where?”

“Up your ass.” Claude said, looking up at Nicholas with a smile.

A frustrated growling noise came from the Inquisitor’s helmet and he drove his blade straight through Claude’s chest. Nicholas kicked the dying man off his sword and barked orders to his men.

The three friends remained in their hiding place even after the Inquisition troops finally left, the twins shifting uncertainly. Finally, all three youths rose from the tall grass and approached the body of the twins’ father. 

“Melie, Arthur. I’m so sorry,” a teary eyed Amicia said, remembering her own father’s death at Nicholas’s hands.

“…thanks, Princess.” Melie nodded with a sad smile. She then looked down at her father’s body. “So, you knew how to be a decent dad all along and you waited until the last possible moment to do it.”

“Melie,” Arthur chided.

“What? This bastard would beat us because the sun rose in the morning than again because it set in the evening!” Melie shouted at her brother, before looking back down at her father’s body, “I hate you! I hate what you did to us! I hate that I somehow still loved you! I…errr…”

Melie struggled to keep her composure until Amicia and Arthur pulled the reluctant thief into a group hug, whereupon she finally cried bitter tears, Arthur joining in soon after.

After some thought and deliberation, the trio decided to carry/drag Claude’s body inside and set the small house alight as a makeshift pyre. As they began to make their way back toward the castle, Melie took one last look at the burning building she’d once tentatively called her home.

“Goodbye, Papa.”

**Author's Note:**

> This story was inspired in part by this quote for Stannis Baratheon 
> 
> “A good deed does not wash out the bad, nor the bad the good.” 
> 
> As such, that's the attitude this story is meant to have; Claude’s final act of self-sacrifice doesn’t excuse the years of abuse he put his children through, but neither does his past abusive behavior make his final act any less noble.


End file.
